# Who was the last US president who was not at war with any other country at any time? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 6, 2001, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-us-president-who-was-not-at-war-with-any-other-country-at-any-time/91798 "2001-11-06T16:00:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Peter\_Niemayer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/898d66/32.png) [@Peter\_Niemayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Niemayer)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2001, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-us-president-who-was-not-at-war-with-any-other-country-at-any-time/91798/1 "2001-11-06T16:00:20Z")
… or, if the question in the subject is to be answered by “none” - maybe there was at least some president who was not involved in a war targeted at changing some other countries government…? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2001, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-us-president-who-was-not-at-war-with-any-other-country-at-any-time/91798/2 "2001-11-06T16:07:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Peter Niemayer \* > \*\*… or, if the question in the subject is to be answered by “none” - maybe there was at least some president who was not involved in a war targeted at changing some other countries government…? \*\* I don’t recall Gerald Ford launching any military missions while he was in office, but I could be mistaken. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Corrado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a88e4f/32.png) [@John\_Corrado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Corrado)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2001, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-us-president-who-was-not-at-war-with-any-other-country-at-any-time/91798/3 "2001-11-06T16:13:21Z")
Well, I suppose it depends upon how you define “war”. If you define it as “the declaration of war as stated in the Constitution to be declared by Congress”, then no President since FDR has sent troops into a war. If you define it as “the use of military forces in a campaign against another country”, then it’s Jimmy Carter, unless you consider the failed raid attempt to free the embassy hostages in Iran as an act of war. Or Bill Clinton, if you don’t consider the patroling of Iraq or the firing of missles into Afghanistan and Sudan as war. If you define it as “the use of military forces in any combat situation in a foreign country”, then it’s Herbert Hoover. FDR had WW2, Truman had Korea, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford had Vietnam, Carter had Iran, Reagan had Grenada and Libya, Bush Sr. had Panama and Iraq, Clinton had Iraq, Afghanistan and Sudan, and Bush Jr. has Afghanistan and Iraq. If you define it as “the use of military forces in any combat situation”, then it’s Calvin Coolidge- Hoover called in the Army to disperse the Bonus Army protesters in late '32. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2001, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-us-president-who-was-not-at-war-with-any-other-country-at-any-time/91798/4 "2001-11-06T16:47:37Z")
U.S. Marines fought against Sandino’s guerrillas in Nicaragua in both Coolidge’s and Hoover’s administrations. U.S. Marines occupied both Haiti and the Dominican Republic before and well into Harding’s tenure, but I don’t know if they saw any fighting. Before that, of course, Wilson had WWI. ---
**Author:** ![kpm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c57346/32.png) [@kpm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kpm)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2001, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-us-president-who-was-not-at-war-with-any-other-country-at-any-time/91798/5 "2001-11-06T17:01:06Z")
There was a battle over a ship called the Mayaguez that involved US Marines. I believe it was 1975 during Ford’s short term. The ship ran into some problem off Cambodia but I can’t recall the details. ---
**Author:** ![kpm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c57346/32.png) [@kpm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kpm)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2001, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-us-president-who-was-not-at-war-with-any-other-country-at-any-time/91798/6 "2001-11-06T17:02:33Z")
There was a battle over a ship called the Mayaguez that involved US Marines. I believe it was 1975 during Ford’s short term. The ship ran into some problem off Cambodia but I can’t recall the details. Also the Vietnam war officially was over in 1975 but US troops were out before then. ---
**Author:** ![shelbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@shelbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shelbo)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2001, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-us-president-who-was-not-at-war-with-any-other-country-at-any-time/91798/7 "2001-11-06T17:12:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by John Corrado \* > Clinton had Iraq, Afghanistan and Sudan And Bosnia/Yugoslavia? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2001, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-us-president-who-was-not-at-war-with-any-other-country-at-any-time/91798/8 "2001-11-06T17:25:11Z")
Didn’t Carter also send troops to aid in Afghanistan? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2001, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-us-president-who-was-not-at-war-with-any-other-country-at-any-time/91798/9 "2001-11-06T19:55:12Z")
> [@](#): > > Didn’t Carter also send troops to aid in Afghanistan? No. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2001, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-us-president-who-was-not-at-war-with-any-other-country-at-any-time/91798/10 "2001-11-06T20:47:28Z")
Unless someone knows about some secret military invasion in 1841, I’m pretty sure that William Henry Harrison didn’t send troops in to harm’s way. ---
**Author:** ![Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milton_De_La_Warre)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2001, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-us-president-who-was-not-at-war-with-any-other-country-at-any-time/91798/11 "2001-11-06T21:14:51Z")
kpm, et al.: The Mayaguez incident was in '75. Ford sent in the Marines to free the crew and ship after it had been siezed in International waters by the Khmer Rouge regime of Cambodia/Kampuchea. As I remember it, there was a good deal of combat, Marines got killed, and I beleive the crew and also possibly the ship were sprung. Slight hijack: I heard recently that somehow a sizeable group of Marines were left behind and held out for some days or weeks awaiting rescue that never came. I suppose someone decided it would look bad to launch a second costly raid (without the element of surprise yet) to rescue the rescurers of the preceding raid. Supposedly, there are tapes of stranded Marines under fire pleading for evacuaton. I don’t know how true this story is. It smells funny to me. Regarding President W.H. Harrison: Did he have any Indian Wars going on during his time? ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2001, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-us-president-who-was-not-at-war-with-any-other-country-at-any-time/91798/12 "2001-11-06T23:31:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Peter Niemayer \* > \*\*… or, if the question in the subject is to be answered by “none” - maybe there was at least some president who was not involved in a war targeted at changing some other countries government…? \*\* Maybe you could say Abraham Lincoln. Too busy involved with a war at home to bother much with goings on overseas. For that you’d have to state that the Confederate States of America was never an independant country. Which shouldn’t be too hard. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2001, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-us-president-who-was-not-at-war-with-any-other-country-at-any-time/91798/13 "2001-11-07T01:28:56Z")
Your slight hijack piqued my interest **JCHeckler**. From [Capture and Release of SS Mayaguez by Khmer Rouge forces in May 1975](http://www.usmm.org/mayaguez.html) > [@](#): > > After the last helicopter left around 8 PM, a head count showed 3 marines were left behind on the island. In 1999, Department of Defense investigators found evidence to indicate one of the Marines was killed a few days later while trying to steal food from the Khmer Rouge. The other two were captured within a few days, executed, and buried on Kaoh Tang island. And from [The Mayaguez Incident](http://members.tripod.com/~GranzowMissingLinks/): > [@](#): > > Protecting the perimeter during the final evacuation was the machine squad of PFC Gary Hall, Lcpl.Joseph Hargrove and Pvt.Danny Marshall. They had run out of ammunition and were ordered to evacuate on the last helicopter. It was their last contact. Maj.McNemar and Maj.James Davis made a final sweep of the beach before boarding the helicopter and were unable to locate them. They were declared Missing in Action. In 1998 a former Khmer medical officer and eyewitness to the battle aftermath claimed to have seen four (4) American prisoners taken off the island to the mainland. The Joint Task Force for Full Accounting can only speculate as to who the fourth prisoner could have been. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2001, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-us-president-who-was-not-at-war-with-any-other-country-at-any-time/91798/14 "2001-11-07T01:31:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RealityChuck \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > Didn’t Carter also send troops to aid in Afghanistan? > > No. \*\* Hmmm…I could have sworn he was the one who said we should start backing the opposition to the Soviets…d’oh. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2001, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-us-president-who-was-not-at-war-with-any-other-country-at-any-time/91798/15 "2001-11-07T02:29:56Z")
IIRC, Carter’s response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was a boycott of the Olympics (lots of happy atheletes :rolleyes ); it was Reagan who upped the ante and started backing the opposition. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2001, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-us-president-who-was-not-at-war-with-any-other-country-at-any-time/91798/16 "2001-11-07T02:43:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Guinastasia \* > \*\* > Hmmm…I could have sworn he was the one who said we should start backing the opposition to the Soviets…d’oh. \*\* Well, I think the CIA started supporting the opposition, but we didn’t actually send troops in…we sent CIA officers. ---
**Author:** ![Osakadave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f07891/32.png) [@Osakadave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Osakadave)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2001, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-us-president-who-was-not-at-war-with-any-other-country-at-any-time/91798/17 "2001-11-07T03:47:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by shelbo \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by John Corrado \* > > Clinton had Iraq, Afghanistan and Sudan > > And Bosnia/Yugoslavia? \*\* And don’t forget Somalia! IIRC, that’s supposed to have been one of our first tangles with bin Ladens boys. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by John Corrado \* > Reagan had Grenada and Libya, And Lebanon as well. ---
**Author:** ![dqa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dqa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dqa)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2001, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-us-president-who-was-not-at-war-with-any-other-country-at-any-time/91798/18 "2001-11-07T05:09:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ringo \* > \*\*IIRC, Carter’s response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was a boycott of the Olympics (lots of happy atheletes :rolleyes ); it was Reagan who upped the ante and started backing the opposition. \*\* Your recollection is only partially correct. Carter backed the opposition before Reagan, but since he left office only 13 months after the invasion, much of what he planned didn’t get underway until Reagan took office. I provided a more detailed synopsis and cite [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=1640513#post1640513). ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2001, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-us-president-who-was-not-at-war-with-any-other-country-at-any-time/91798/19 "2001-11-07T05:28:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by shelbo \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by John Corrado \* > > Clinton had Iraq, Afghanistan and Sudan > > And Bosnia/Yugoslavia? \*\* And Haiti. We invaded Haiti. It would be that the one invasion I was involved in gets forgotten. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2001, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-us-president-who-was-not-at-war-with-any-other-country-at-any-time/91798/20 "2001-11-07T06:22:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Osakadave \* > \*\*And Lebanon as well. \*\* Did we actually fight in Lebanon? We stationed Marines there, and there was the car bomb, but did we get involved in operations. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-the-last-us-president-who-was-not-at-war-with-any-other-country-at-any-time/91798.md?page=2)